Structural Collapse in Wilmington

Today, at 11:20 a.m., Wilmington firefighters on the B-Platoon were dispatched to the 400 block of West 7th Street for a report of a building roof collapse. Upon arriving, Fire Department units found that the third floor roof of a three story, middle of the row building had collapsed causing a ‘pancake collapse’ into the second floor of the structure.

Fire Department Special Operations Units stabilized the scene and searched the building for any possible trapped occupants. Gas, Electric and water was turned off to the building. Upon conclusion of the search, no occupants were found trapped or injured.

Due to the collapse, two adjacent structures in the 400 block of West 7th Street were deemed unfit for occupancy. Additionally, three additional buildings in the 600 block of Washington Street were evacuated due to their proximity to the collapsed building and will remain unoccupied until the situation is evaluated and cleared by a structural engineer.

No firefighter or civilian injuries were reported. The situation was placed under control at 12:08 p.m. and turned over to the Wilmington Department of Licenses & Inspections.